Wise friends of yotatech, you have not let me down. In attempting to drop the oil pan on my 84 truck, I nearly blew my own gasket getting the relay rod end from the pitman arm. I broke 1 pitman arm puller and went for the fork/lever method, only to free both the bolt from the pitman and the ball of the bolt from the relay rod. Can this be put back in? I did a few internet searches and didn't find anything. This is my first engine buildup/buildown, so I hadn't ever taken apart any steering linkages. Thoughts?

 

Also, does anyone know of a good tie-rod/pitman puller for this truck?

 

If a ball pulled out of a socket on your factory steering likage, toss it in the trash. No fix you can do. I only use a hammer on outer tie rod ends. The inner ones can usually be persuaded by a air hammer and pickle fork in about 2-3 seconds.